September 17, 2012

• Steven Topazio wrote this April 27, 2014 at 6:40 pm

The client, an Asian male form New York, was arrested and charged with conspiracy in violation of MGL c. 274 § 7, attempt to commit a crime in violation of MGL c. 274 § 6, and witness intimidation in violation of MGL c. 268 § 13B after attempting to open a checking account in Citibank in Hingham. Hingham police were provided information from Citibank Security about a group of men who apparently open checking accounts in a false name and deposit approximately a small amount of cash into the account. These men then make a large deposit by check (with insufficient funds or bad check) and then make a withdraw of a large cash amount before the check is returned, leaving the account in the negative. According to the police report, Citibank Security was given a BOLO from Citibank regarding a scam/fraud by an Asian group of males that occurred in other banks, which the police concluded was the client’s intent when he entered the Hingham Citibank. Boston Criminal Attorney Topazio challenged the evidence with a motion to dismiss. Massachusetts Criminal Lawyer Topazio argued that it is not always possible to prove a conspiracy by direct evidence. The law allows a trier of fact, where it seems reasonable, to infer that there was a conspiracy from all of the circumstances. For example, if people who know each other or have been in communication with each other are shown to have been involved in concerted actions which all seem designed to accomplish a specific purpose, then it may be reasonable to conclude that those actions were not coincidental but were taken pursuant to a joint plan. However in this case, Boston Criminal Attorney Topazio argued that nothing was known about his client other than he is Asian and spoke a foreign language when he was in Citibank. The client was arrested because he was in the company of a co-defendant whose picture was allegedly in the BOLO provided to Citibank security which alleged that Asian gang members were defrauding banks. Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Topazio argued that nothing was known about his client, and that nothing in the police report indicated that the client, who was not in the bank’s security BOLO, was aware of any unlawful objective of anybody when he entered the bank. Despite the facts, the motion was denied and the case was pushed to trial. Multiple motions in limine were drafted in anticipation for trial. Today at trial, Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Topazio was able to persuade the court to dismiss all charges against his client.